Page 45 of Mafia Men Need Love Too
“OK, kitten. I’ll drop the subject…but only if you answer a few questions for me.”
“I’d give you a kidney if it would get me out of this conversation,” he intoned dryly.
She ignored him. “Who is the first person you think of when you wake up in the morning?”
“River.”
“And the last one you think of when you go to sleep at night?”
“River.”
“When something funny or interesting happens during the day, who is the first person you want to talk to about it?”
He was starting to see where she was going with this. “River. But?—”
“What would you do if one of these Russian assholes tried to hurt her tonight?”
His blood pressure spiked at the mere suggestion. “I’d rip out his spleen with my bare hands. Then I’d cram it down his boss’s throat.”
She nodded. “What’s your favorite thing about her?”
“She’s a light in the darkness. Everyone who meets her is a better person simply for knowing her.”
“Interesting. And what if she told you she didn’t want to marry you? Now that you know her a little better, would you still tell her she didn’t have a choice?”
“I’d let her go,” he admitted quietly. “I’d find a way to make sure she was safe, and I’d let her go.”
“What would it feel like to lose her?”
“Cold. I’d be…empty.”
She gave him a sad smile. “Sounds like love to me. Seems like you’re not as exempt from that particular emotion as you’d hoped.”
Holy shit.
She was right. The fascination, the attraction, the obsession he’d felt for River in the beginning had morphed into something much deeper. It had happened right under his nose, and he hadn’t had a clue. He’d been too busy enjoying her presence—her light—in his life to analyze his feelings.
He was falling in love with his fiancée.
And he had not one fucking clue how she felt about him.
She seemed to enjoy his body well enough. But had her feelings for him grown, as well? Or was she just trying to make the best of what she viewed as a forced marriage?
As if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on his heart, Tenley slapped his shoulder congenially. “You’re welcome. Don’t fuck it up, yeah?”
Well, that was the real trick, wasn’t it?
He was still processing his feelings when Ren approached him. “Had a wedding present delivered to your house.”
Nico raised a brow. That seemed…out of character for his security expert. “Really?”
“Yep. Two of them, actually. Something you’ve been wanting for, oh, I don’t know, since the night you got engaged.”
Ah. Now it made sense. “And in what…condition would you say the packages are in?”
If Nico was a man who felt fear, he would’ve been terrified by Ren’s answering grin. “They were a little damaged in shipping, but you’ll still find them useful.”
“Excellent. Thank you, my friend.”
